Baked Beans

I saw this recipe in Michael Smith's 'The Best of Chef at Home.' I love baked beans, so I decided to give it a try... I didn't have some of the ingredients (like maple syrup)... in the spirit of Michael Smith, I free-styled it. Here's his recipe:

• 2 cups dried navy or white beans, soaked in lots of cold water overnight
• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of maple syrup
• 6 slices of thick-cut fried bacon, diced, fat reserved
• 1 or 2 large onions, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon of powdered ginger
• 2 tablespoons of any mustard
• a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce
• a sprinkle or two of sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon of any vinegar

Preheat your oven to 300F.

Strain the beans out of their soaking water and give them a good rinse. No nutrients are lost in the soaking and rinsing; instead, the beans rehydrate, which will speed up their cooking time.

Toss the beans into a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer until the beans are tender, about 45 minutes.

Drain the beans and place them in a 4 quart ovenproof baking dish with a tight-fitting lid. Add the maple syrup, bacon, onions, ginger, mustard, worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Add as much or as little of the reserved bacon fat as you care to.

Cover and place in the oven and bake until the beans have absorbed most of the liquid and are tender, about 1 hour or so.

Stir in vinegar just before serving."

I used freshly minced ginger, regular hot dog mustard, no maple syrup, a dash of molasses, some brown sugar, a bit of tomato paste, pickle juice (instead of vinegar), and no worcestershire.

It seemed alright at the time, but it's really quite unpalatable... the mustard and ginger are especially wrong. If I try to make baked beans again, it will be a totally different recipe, probably something that involves a tomato-based sauce.